Cult of the Amateur
I just finished reading Andrew Keen’s Cult of the Amateur. I had heard it discussed on more than one podcast, so I had been looking forward to reading it. It was pretty much what I expected.
Keen holds a Michael Gorman-esque view of the world, in that the only choices that matter are made by book publishers, newspapers editors, and record producers. Everyone else should stay on the sideline and be happy that they are allowed the privilege of purchasing things chosen by industry giants. He singles out Lawrence Lessig, Jimmy Wales, and Glenn Reynolds for particular scorn. And he sometimes blames Web 2.0 for issues like Internet gambling and Child pornography without making bothering to explain just how they are linked. He is also the only person I can think of that champions both COPA and Dopa. Michael Sauers does a great job of going point by point through it.
If you want to read a well-written screed, I can’t think of a better one. But I don’t really consider it anything more than that.
Scholastic Sizzling
I just had the chance to lay my hands on eight copies of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows but I didn’t even look at the title page. That I saw elsewhere.
It didn’t take long for Scholastic, the U.S. publisher of the Harry Potter books, to send us a takedown notice for our post “The Latest Harry Potter Book Hits BitTorrent.” In an email yesterday, Mark S. Seidenfeld, an attorney for Scholastic, demanded that we “act expeditiously to remove or disable access to the material or items claimed to be infringing” and referred to the post. The full text of the notice is below. A print article in USA Today says that they are contacting every site that has mentioned this story and demanding it be taken down. – Michael Arrington
Meanwhile…
Copies of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows’‘ have been arriving early by mail, U.S. publisher Scholastic Corp. said, accusing a distributor of sending them out too soon. The company plans legal action against Levy Home Entertainment, the distributor, and Levy customer DeepDiscount.com, New York-based Scholastic said today in a statement. The copies that went out starting July 17 amounted to one- hundredth of 1 percent of the total to go on sale in the U.S., Scholastic said. The seventh and final edition in the ``Harry Potter’‘ series is scheduled for release after midnight on July 21. Scholastic obtained a subpoena on July 16 to identify an Internet user who allegedly leaked the book on the Web. – Gillian Wee
I can understand why Scholastic is so upset. I am sure all of this is going to greatly decrease sales.
Scholastic, the American publisher of the Harry Potter stories, is printing 12 million copies — the largest first printing of any book in history. – Judith Egerton
Or perhaps not.
The Death of Harry Potter
Many people predict that Harry will not survive the “Deathly Hallows.”
Although Rowling didn’t specify precisely when and how Potter will meet his doom, fans took for granted that he will die and are appalled by the very idea. One aficionado wrote, quote, ‘I truly feel that for Rowling to kill off any of the trio would reflect a callousness towards children I don’t wish to contemplate’, completely ignoring the fact that the author only hinted that the main character may die. – Elena Gorgan
Last Week, at the HP Panel at Oasis, we discussed whether his death was imminent. The consensus was that it was not. One of the most eloquent arguments was by one audience member that having him die after undergoing all his struggles would send children who had enjoyed the series the wrong message. I can’t disagree.
For everyone who has dreamt of walking the streets of Diagon Alley, they soon will have the chance.“The Wizarding World of Harry Potter” at Universal’s Islands of Adventure theme park will make the magical world of the famous book a reality for its legions of fans. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. and Universal Orlando Resort are partnering to create the worlds first fully immersive Harry Potter themed environment based on J.K. Rowling’s books and the Warner Bros. films. “The Wizarding World of Harry Potter” is expected to open in 2009. – ABC News
It could just be me, but I can’t quite see launching a theme park based on a dead literary character.
Harry Potter Home Stretch
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” the last of seven installments of J.K. Rowling’s mega-selling international phenomenon, will be published July 21 — at midnight, of course, a time to be marked by celebrations and more than a few tears, as Rowling wraps up the magical adventures of the boy wizard, his friends and his enemies. – Hillel Italie
I am disappointed about them missing the 7/7/07 deadline but I placed my pre-order anyway. Now I just need to wait for the library copies to arrive.
Harry Potter and the Interminable Wait
We had a patron just now who wanted to place a reserve on the book. While we have added marc records ahead of time in the past, I think it is still a trifle premature (although Amazon may feel differently). I am still hopeful for a July 7th release, but there is going to have to be some movement pretty quick to make that.
